


Competing With a Memory

by NightWolfsTales



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Married Couple, Queen Daenerys, Queen Sansa, past Sansa/Margaery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 17:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18743887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightWolfsTales/pseuds/NightWolfsTales
Summary: Daenerys didn’t know what to think or how to react when she found Sansa standing under the weirwood tree, crying her eyes out as she held a rose to her heart.





	Competing With a Memory

**Author's Note:**

> This little piece is just me missing The Queen like hell.

Daenerys didn’t know what to think or how to react when she found Sansa standing under the weirwood tree, crying her eyes out as she held a rose to her heart.

It was spring and the green grass covered the ground under their feet, the warm wind bringing the sounds of nearby animals to their ears, and the kind sun warming their skins. It could have been a perfect day for a horse ride to the river or a long walk outside but Sansa was clearly not in for that.

Daenerys wondered where her wife had gotten that rose from. They didn’t have roses in Winterfell. It looked like the kind you would only find in Highga–… Daenerys let out a long sigh as she realised the reason behind Sansa’s tears.

It’s known that it is hard to compete with an ex-lover but it is double hard to compete with a _dead_ ex-lover. With a ghost. With someone frozen in time who can never do no wrong and will always be perfect in your wife’s memory. How do you compete with that? How do you compete with the idealized version of flawlessness of your partner’s first love? How do you compete with a martyr?

Daenerys made her presence known by walking to Sansa, until she was close enough for the redhead to hear her footsteps over her loud sobs. Sansa sniffed, trying to wipe her tears away as fast as she could as if it would change the fact her wife had witnessed the whole scene. In a pathetic attempt to pretend nothing had happened, she hid the rose behind her back.

Then she faced Daenerys, forcing a smile. “I was about to go back inside.” Her voice sounded hoarse from all the crying, so she cleared her throat before continuing. “I want to spend some time with my siblings before we leave tomorrow.”  

Sansa took a step, attempting to leave the place but Daenerys stopped her by holding her arm. She stood in front of her wife and reached for her hand; the one that wasn’t holding the rose behind her back; and she gave it a soft squeeze. “It’s ok to miss her.” She said in her softest voice.

Sansa gripped the rose, trying hard to hold back the fresh tears that filled her eyes. “Can we just go back inside, please?”  

“I’d rather we talked about this.” Daenerys stroked the back of Sansa’s hand with her thumb as she spoke. “You can talk to me, you know that.”

Sansa did know she could talk to her wife, she just wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about it. It hurt too much and she didn’t feel comfortable talking to Daenerys about _her._

“Where did you get that rose?” Daenerys asked when Sansa didn’t say anything. The flower looked very fresh, so she knew for certain it wasn’t from Highgarden for it would have withered on its way to Winterfell.

“It was here.” Sansa said and Daenerys furrowed her brow, wondering what her wife meant.

“Care to elaborate?”

Sansa let out a sigh, moving her hand from behind her back to her side, looking down at the red rose. “There’s not much to say, Dany… It was here, right here on the ground. It’s like…” She felt the hot tears streaming down her cheeks again. “it’s like she’s been here. It might sound absurd but I could _feel_ her, I could smell her and…” She broke into tears again, the big lump in her throat making it impossible for her to keep talking.

Daenerys could feel her own eyes getting wet as she watched her wife break down right in front of her eyes. She pulled Sansa closer and held her tight, letting the redhead cry on her shoulder as she stroked her back. Sansa’s sobs were loud and her body was shaking violently against Daenerys’. She had never seen Sansa like this.  

She knew, from what her wife had told her, that Sansa used to cry quite a lot back in the days her skin was made of porcelain -her words-, but that was many years ago. Daenerys never got to know this Sansa. The Sansa she knew was a strong woman, that very much like herself, could be really cold every now and then, although not with her. Never with her. She was always sweet and lovely when it came to Daenerys. Yet Daenerys had never seen the redhead shed a tear before. Not since the morning after the battle against the dead, when she cried over Theon Greyjoy’s dead body.  

Not that Sansa _had_ reasons to cry. They lived happily. Daenerys had her throne, Sansa sat by her side on her own throne. They ruled the Seven Kingdoms together and there was peace all over Westeros. So it was something new and heartbreaking to see her wife not only crying, but crying so desperately. Daenerys knew Margaery Tyrell had been very important to Sansa, but she didn’t know just _how much_ until this moment. 

“You must think that I’m crazy.” Sansa said in a broken voice, still holding her.

Daenerys continued stroking the redhead’s back, soothing her. “No, I don’t.” She pulled away just enough to look at Sansa. “I think that you concealed your emotions for far too long and now you reached your breaking point.”

Sansa looked back at the rose, bringing it close to her face. She was lost in thoughts and had finally calmed down enough to stop crying. Her eyes, nose and cheeks were red, just about as red as the flower she was holding. “She was here.” She whispered to herself but Daenerys heard it.

“She will always be with you, in a way. In your heart.” Daenerys said, used to the idea that Margaery Tyrell would always have a piece of her wife’s heart.

“No, I mean she was _here._ I couldn’t see her but I felt her, I smelled her, I know she was here.” Sansa sounded desperate to get Daenerys to believe her words, as if to prove herself she was not crazy.

“I’m sure she was, my love. I mean, she brought you a flower, after all.” Daenerys said, eyeing the rose.

“It’s her death anniversary today.” Sansa whispered before taking a big breath. “She’s probably in a better place now.”

“I’m sure she is.”

Kissing the rose, Sansa kneeled to leave it where she found it. She couldn’t keep it, it would hurt too much to watch as it withered. It would be like watching Margaery die all over again and she simply couldn’t take it. “Goodbye, my love.” She said in a barely audible whisper that only Margaery and herself could hear before standing up.

After wiping the last of her tears away, she held her wife again. She buried her face in Daenerys’ hair, letting her scent fill her nostrils and replace Margaery’s. She felt a pleasant sensation as she did this, like she was in peace at last. She had let out everything she had been holding back for years, all the concealed tears and the pain.

For the first time since Margaery’s death, she felt ready to leave her in the past and _really_ move on. Margaery would always have a special place in her heart but her heart belonged to Daenerys now. It was Daenerys who made it beat faster and slower at the same time again, who made it skip beats whenever she smiled so prettily at her. Daenerys had fixed her broken heart and taught her to love again.

“I love you, Dany. I love you so much.” Sansa told her as she held her lovingly.

Upon hearing her wife’s words, Daenerys smiled. She knew Sansa loved her just like she herself loved the redhead. And Margaery Tyrell might lived forever in Sansa’s heart but it was _her_ heart. She knew it made no sense to try and compete with a memory. She would let Sansa cry for her deceased first love whenever she needed to and she would be there to hold her and show her her love.

Daenerys held Sansa’s head in both hands and looked right into her eyes. “I love you. You are my everything.” She said before kissing her wife’s lips.

Sansa closed her eyes as she felt Daenerys’ soft lips on her own and when a gust of wind blew around them, she knew they were alone.   


End file.
